


Let's Get Lost

by souyosona



Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, tiny sprinkle of angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:54:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25255732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/souyosona/pseuds/souyosona
Summary: University is a time for new beginnings. For endless possibilities. For taking the world by storm ... and for obnoxious roommates in your dorm who have no consideration for the people around them. But if you're lucky, you find someone to suffer through it with.
Relationships: Hanamura Yosuke/Narukami Yu, Hanamura Yosuke/Persona 4 Protagonist, Hanamura Yosuke/Seta Souji
Comments: 110
Kudos: 156





	1. Endless Possibilities

**Author's Note:**

> hiya, it's me, your least fave souyo writer! back again with another... whatever this turns out to be! i'll be working rather consistently on this, but i won't give a set schedule so i don't disappoint anyone. enjoy the ride (i hope) and thank you in advance if you give this a look!
> 
> the prompt this is gonna be somewhat based on is: "we live on the same floor and the dorm between ours always has REALLY loud sex so now we're both in the main lounge at 2am do you want this last bite of ice cream”

Souji was beyond elated to finally be starting his first year of university. It was a new and exciting adventure full of endless possibilities (and with the added bonus of being far away from his parents). Everything filled him with a sense of wonder as soon as he arrived on campus. All around him, his new potential classmates were unloading their belongings and forming what seemed like an endless revolving door of people filing in and out of the dormitories. The air was charged with excitement that matched his own as well as the very understandable nervousness of being apart from most likely everyone they've ever known. Souji may not have felt the bittersweetness that came with moving out on one's own, away from their families and support system, but he supposed that kind of made him lucky. There was nothing for him to miss.

He didn't feel sad about that, though. Not anymore. Now it was liberating for him. With nothing to miss or feel homesick for, Souji could truly embrace this new chapter in his life and make the most of every day and every opportunity presented to him. With his few bags in tow, Souji made his way into the crowd and through the doors of his building. It took awhile before he reached the dorm advisor in order to receive his room assignment and key, but he didn't mind. His eyes scanned the faces around him, wondering to himself what they were like. Wondering if any of them would become his friends. If any of them would share his classes and become his study buddies.

Souji's eyes briefly landed on a family of four, where two young boys were being particularly rambunctious. The younger of the two (he assumed) brothers was clinging rather cutely to the older boy's leg, begging him to not leave him all by his bearsome. Bearsome? Kids really do say the darndest things, huh? Souji chuckled and turned his attention back to the task in front of him as he reached the front of the line. Now that he had his key and room number, he ventured onward and up the stairs to his left. Two flights of stairs later, he'd found his room and fumbled for a moment with unlocking it. Once inside, he took in the snug area that would be his for the year with a small smile.

He set down his bags beside the bed, immediately moving towards the window to open the blinds and let some sun in. The latch to crack the window itself took a bit of force to get open, but it was worth it as soon as the fresh spring air filled his senses. Souji then made quick work of unpacking and organising his things around the space. He hung his clothes in the surprisingly spacious closet space, lining up his shoes in a perfect line beneath his shirts and jackets. Refolding his trousers and undergarments, he placed them on some of the shelving provided. His window-side desk quickly became filled with his laptop, an array of notebooks, writing utensils, and various other studying materials. The small kitchenette area across from the closet now held a few pairs of chopsticks and bentos as well as a couple of bowls, plates, and cups.

After Souji had finished up by dressing his bed, he tucked away the empty bags beneath the bed and looked around thoughtfully. While it definitely looked like someone lived here now, it was still very empty. Souji had only brought the bare minimum with him, not wanting to have too much to carry from the train station to the university. He shrugged, deciding not to think about it any further for now. He was sure the room would feel more like his own after he became used to it. And maybe after he went shopping for some groceries and possibly some things to hang on the bare walls.

Glancing at his phone to check the time, Souji decided to head out to pick up the books he'd need for his coursework this semester. It would also be the perfect time to familiarise himself with the campus and find out where his classes would be. He pocketed his wallet and phone, locking the door behind him.

Souji referenced the map in his hands a few times; the last thing he wanted to do was get lost and feel like a fool. With very little difficulty, Souji had managed to locate the bookstore and pulled out his phone to find the list of books he needed to grab. It was crowded, but he was able to snag everything fairly quickly. The texts were certainly not cheap by any means, but luckily he had been able to save up more than enough with all of the odd jobs he'd had during his high school career. And hopefully he'd be able to find a part-time job on campus soon.

Souji took the long way back to his dorm, wanting to see the other side of campus while he was already out and about. The campus itself was beautiful. Trees and greenery lined nearly every pathway from building to building, making the area seem brighter and more lively. He could clearly tell apart the upperclassmen from the newcomers like himself; they walked around with a sense of confidence and belonging. There were groups of students happily reuniting with friends and others who were saying their goodbyes to their loved ones who had come to help them move in. A familiar, dull ache settled into Souji's chest that he tried to banish as quickly as it came.

The sun was beginning to set by the time he'd finally arrived back to his dormitory. Souji set his textbooks on the side shelf of his desk and plopped down in the chair. It wasn't the most comfortable, but it wasn't horrible, either. He flipped open his laptop, going to work setting up an internet connection. Not feeling like going out to find something to eat tonight, Souji decided to go ahead and change into his pajamas. He put on some soft music, careful not to play it loudly enough to disturb anyone, and climbed into bed. It was probably lame to go to bed before nine in the evening on his first day on a university campus, but Souji hadn't realised how tired he actually was. Tomorrow was another day filled with new possibilities, but for tonight, sleep called his name.


	2. Pleasant Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Souji's first week of university ended up being much better than originally expected, including three possible new friends and free ice cream.

The first week of classes had gone by surprisingly fast and Souji was very happy with all of his courses. He knew that it would be a lot of work from here on out, but he was excited to learn and push his brain to the limits. School had always come easy to him. It was something to focus on; something he was exceptional at. He knew it was strange but studying even calmed him and eased his mind.

After his last class got out on Friday afternoon, Souji decided to grab something to eat before going back to his dorm to get a jump on some of the reading he'd been assigned. On his way to the dining hall, he ran into a couple of people from his Modern History of Japan class. He bowed his head slightly as they waved and fell into step with him.

"It's ... Seta-kun, right?" The smaller of the two asked, waiting for Souji to nod in agreement before she continued speaking. "I'm Satonaka Chie! And this is my girlfriend, Amagi Yukiko!"

"C-Chie." Amagi-san seemed to feel embarrassed by that introduction.

"It's nice to meet you, Satonaka-san; Amagi-san." Souji offered them a friendly smile.

"Yeah! So are you on your way to eat? Want some company?" Satonaka-san was practically bouncing with enthusiasm.

Souji accepted and the trio made their way to the cafeteria, discussing how their first weeks had gone. As they went through the line for food and then eventually found an unoccupied table, he felt nervous. Souji had never been very good at making friends, nor had he much of a desire to form lasting relationships until now. His parents' work caused them to have to move around too often - a lot of times Souji had to stay with various relatives who he could always tell did not want him there. He'd honestly lost track of the number of times he'd been the New Kid; a spectacle for his classmates to either be fascinated with or feel disdain for until he had to move again two months later. The longest Souji had ever been in one place was the year he'd been sent to a small town to live with his uncle and younger cousin. It had been the first time he'd actually felt part of a family, not just a burden to be passed around and ignored.

Now, though; now was different. Souji would be at the same school, in the same city, for at least the next four years. He could finally try to have friends. Finally have a place he belonged. And honestly, it scared him to think about opening up to anyone and getting close to them. He tried to push down his insecurities and tuned back into the conversation his classmates were having.

The meal passed by pleasantly, Souji truly was grateful for having someone to spend a meal with for once. They parted ways, wishing each other good weekends, and Satonaka-san let him know they'd see him in class on Monday and they could all sit together. The thought warmed him as he headed back to his dorm. Once inside, Souji pulled out his coursework and set it off to the side of his desk. He spent the next few hours carefully reading through his Ethics textbook, diligently taking notes and placing sticky tabs at particularly important sections.

By the time he'd gotten through the first few chapters as assigned and finished colour coding his notes, Souji could feel his eyes beginning to strain with tiredness. Knowing it was only the beginning of the semester and he'd gotten an acceptable amount done for the day, he decided to actually listen to his body and head to bed.

* * *

He dedicated his Saturday to the remaining three courses he was currently taking, checking what was immediately required of him according to each syllabus and then tacking on an extra chapter per course. Souji preferred to be just slightly ahead of schedule, if he could help it. By noon, he had gotten through both Japanese Folklore and Modern History, leaving only his Japanese Literature coursework to get through.

Souji decided to take a break, still needing to locate the nearest grocery store to stock up on essentials and such. While the campus-provided food was not at all awful, he much preferred to prepare the bulk of his own meals. Opening up the maps app on his phone, it didn't take long to locate the nearest Junes and then check into the public transport schedules. Seeing that a bus would be arriving at the stop nearest his dormitory in less than half an hour, Souji quickly slipped on a pair of shoes, grabbed his reusable bags and wallet, and ventured out.

The bus wasn't overly crowded, but he remained standing all the same, checking his email to pass the time. Immediately upon seeing the very familiar Junes logo, Souji thumbed through his contacts until he reached the one he wanted and started a call.

"Big Bro! Hi!" As soon as he heard those words, a smile swept across his features.

"Hi, Nanako-chan. How are you?" Souji entered through the automatic doors and to the elevator that would lead him to the grocery section of the department store.

"I'm good! Dad didn't have to work today so we're going to go see the new Detective Loveline movie!"

"I'm happy to hear that. I'm not keeping you, am I?"

"Nope, we still have an hour before we have to leave! Do you like your new school, Big Bro?"

Souji weaved in and out of aisles, slowly filling a handbasket with various ingredients, snacks, and drinks. Overhead, the Junes jingle played and he knew Nanako could hear it through the phone's speaker because she gasped in delight.

"You're at Junes!" She proceeded to sing along with the catchy tune and Souji's heart ached to squeeze her in a hug.

"Sure am, that's what made me want to call you. And yes, I do like my new school, thank you for asking." His smile widened as his cousin giggled happily.

"I miss you, Big bro."

"I miss you, too, Little Sis. I promise to come and visit really soon, okay?"

"Okay! Oh, oh, Dad said we could come and see you at school sometime, too!"

Souji's smile widened at that. "I can't wait."

They spoke for a few more minutes before he expressed that he unfortunately should check out so he didn't miss his bus back. Souji promised to call again soon and that seemed to remedy the sadness he'd heard in Nanako's voice just before they hung up.

After arriving back safely and organising his haul, Souji got to work preparing some egg salad for sandwiches and boiled some water for a cup of instant ramen for his lunch. He placed the leftover egg salad in the small refrigerator and cleaned up while he waited for his noodles to cook properly. Walking over to his window, Souji let in some natural light before settling into his desk chair and pulling up Netflix to watch something as he ate. An hour later and with a mostly full stomach, Souji flipped open his Japanese Literature textbook and got back to work.

* * *

Sunday started off strange, to say the least. Souji blindly reached for his phone, eyes straining against the sudden brightness. Two in the morning. It was two in the morning, why in the world was he awake? The sounds of a bed creaking and almost unnaturally loud moaning and grunting began to fill his room. He groaned, shoving his extra pillow over his face, and pressed it over his ears as hard as he could to no avail.

Giving up after a few minutes, Souji let out an annoyed huff and pushed himself up from his bed. He pulled his phone off of the charger, grabbed a book from his shelf, and slipped on his house slippers before heading to the common area. Finding it empty, Souji sat himself at an end of one of the loveseats, stretching his legs out with a yawn. He flipped open his book and tried to focus on the words before him.

He'd made it through a page and a half, when suddenly he was no longer alone. He glanced up to find someone who looked just as sleepy and annoyed as he felt. They made eye contact and Souji offered a small sympathetic smile. The other offered up a sleepy grin in return, heading to the vending machine. Souji turned back to his book, noticing his newfound company plopping down in the chair directly across from him, the sounds of a wrapper opening and interrupting the previous silence.

"Let me guess: room 221 wake you up, too?"

Souji looked up to meet warm brown eyes, nodding. "I'm not sure anyone would be able to sleep through all of that."

"Right?! Like, I get it, we're in uni and away from our folks and stuff, but wow." A pleasant sounding chuckle filled the room. "Anyway, I'm Hanamura Yosuke. Room 222."

"Seta Souji. 220, but you probably guessed that already. It's nice to meet you Hanamura-kun." Souji offered his hand across the way, not wanting to seem impolite.

Hanamura-kun wrinkled his nose as he reached over to accept the shake. "You're a formal kinda guy, huh? You can just call me Yosuke, if you want."

Souji pulled his hand back and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, is that strange?"

"Nah, not at all." Yosuke-kun looked down at the twin ice cream bar in his hand that he had snapped apart and then back towards Souji. "Hey, you want the other half of this?"

Blinking in surprise, Souji tilted his head to the side. "Oh, um. Are you sure?"

"Yeah, dude! I insist." Not even letting Souji protest, Yosuke-kun carefully offered up the frozen treat and he gingerly took hold of the stick.

"Thank you, Yosuke-kun." Souji smiled to himself as he took a bite and let the sweetness settle on his tongue. Suddenly he was kind of okay with being woken up at such an ungodly hour.

"Don't mention it, Seta-kun! So whatcha readin'?"

"Folk Legends from Tono. I thought you didn't like formalities." Souji took that opportunity to mark his page and close his book as he leaned forward attentively.

"Well, you seem to, so I didn't want to come off as rude, y'know?" Yosuke-kun shrugged, taking a rather large bite of his ice cream and scrunching up his face at the cold. Which he found very cute, if Souji was being honest with himself.

Souji smiled at that but shook his head. "Souji is more than alright by me."

"Noted. So folk legends, huh? For class or for pleasure?"

"Both, really."

Yosuke-kun hummed in acknowledgement. "Bit of a nerd, aren't ya? What's your major?"

"Yeah, probably." Souji chuckled. "Japanese Literature and Japanese Historical Linguistics. What about you?"

"No probably about it. You gotta be a nerd to have that as a major." Yosuke-kun winked playfully, finishing off his ice cream and tapping the stick against his leg in an unknown beat. "I'm in the Music program."

Souji's eyebrows raised in interest. "I hear that program's very competitive and hard to get into."

Yosuke-kun's cheeks flushed slightly, fingers running through his hair sheepishly. "Y-Yeah, I guess so."

"You must be very good, then."

"I, um. I'm not horrible, I guess."

"Don't sell yourself short, Yosuke-kun. You must have a great talent and it's okay to be confident in that." Souji nodded in finality, crossing one leg over the other.

"Were you a cheerleader in High School or somethin', Souji-kun?" He laughed, meeting Souji's eyes. "Thank you, though. I'll try to keep that in mind."

Souji smiled back at him, finally through with his own half of the ice cream. He checked his phone for the time, finding that an hour had passed. "You think they're done by now?"

Yosuke-kun glanced back towards their hallway and shrugged. "I hope so. I'm pretty beat."

The pair rose from their seats, disposing of their trash, and walked the relatively short distance back to their respective rooms. They listened at their doors for a moment, thankfully not hearing any more of the erotic sounds coming from their joint neighbour.

"See ya around, then?" Yosuke-kun whispered, one hand on his doorknob.

Souji nodded, bowing his head slightly and wishing him a goodnight. He plugged his phone back in and crawled back into the comfort of his bed. It didn't take long for him to fall back asleep, a content smile on his lips. It really had been a wonderful first week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi y'all! i just wanted to say thank you for reading and thank you for the warm reception the first chapter has seemed to have gotten already! i wasn't expecting it since chapter one was just a big ol' wall of text, but i really appreciate the kind words and kudos! i hope you guys like this chapter, a lot more happens and i'm pretty pleased with how it's turned out! <3
> 
> as always, you can find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/souyocrossing) if you wanna come scream and cry about souyo with me!


	3. Confessions and Acceptance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Souji has a very complicated relationship with the word 'love', but boy, does he have strong feelings about it.

It wasn't that Souji thought university would be a drastic change from high school, but he wasn't quite prepared for just how similar it seemed to be in a lot of ways. For instance, there were still cliques, even if they weren't as obvious. Another was the weird fascination people had with confessing feelings through a handwritten note. The concept itself wasn't what made Souji uncomfortable with it; he actually thought it was a very sweet gesture if you really liked someone that much. What bothered him was the fact that people tried to confess their love to someone even if they had never so much as spoken to them. How could one say they really and truly loved someone, if they didn't even know who that individual really was? Short answer: they couldn't.

Which is why, when a girl from his Ethics class all but cornered him as he was trying to leave, a light pink envelope in her hand, Souji had to hold back an outward grimace. He really did not want to do this.

The girl bowed deeply, hands extended towards Souji now. "Seta-kun, please accept my feelings!"

"I'm sorry. I'm not interested in starting a relationship right now." Souji clenched his fingers around the strap of his messenger bag, hoping she would give up easily.

"But... But I love you!" Tears lined her eyes as she pressed the note against his chest.

Souji inhaled sharply, teeth gritted as he took a step backwards. "No. You don't. Excuse me."

Before she could start full on crying - or worse, grab him - Souji hightailed it out of there. He was seething as he made his way across campus, mumbling to himself. Unfortunately, this was not the first time Souji had been 'confessed' to, but it was the first time he'd been so blatantly cold. Part of him felt bad about it, not meaning to actually hurt the girl. The other times, he turned them down kindly and thankfully they hadn't been as pushy. But this time, something in him snapped and he just couldn't take it.

Souji couldn't stand the word 'love' being thrown around so easily. Love was something that needed time and care to grow. It held so much meaning and power and it shouldn't be taken lightly. Admittedly, Souji had little experience in love; none in the romantic sense. Growing up, he had never heard his parents say the words 'I love you' - not even once. Maybe he took it too seriously because of this. Maybe he didn't really understand it as much as others did. Even so, when - if - he ever found someone he wanted to share his heart with, he wanted that love to feel as bright and full as he felt whenever Nanako called him 'Big Bro'.

By the time Souji had reached his dorm, most of his anger had simmered down into only a slight irritation. As he passed by the common area, he heard a chipper 'Hey!' and shook himself out of his thoughts.

"Hey, Souji-kun! It's kinda nice seein' you when the sun's actually up." Yosuke-kun was sliding his headphones off of his ears and around his neck, smiling brightly at Souji.

He felt the irritation dissipate as he let himself take a seat across from his almost neighbour, chuckling at the remark. "Yeah, I almost didn't recognise you."

Yosuke-kun seemed to study his face for a moment. "Rough day?"

"Hm? Oh. It's nothing."

"If you say so. But you can talk to me if ya want. This is a safe space, or at least, that's what it says on that flyer the DA put up over there."

Souji turned his head to see the flyer. "How kind of them." Unshouldering his bag, he relaxed a little into the chair. "Some girl in my Ethics class confessed to me."

Yosuke-kun's eyebrows rose, a grin on his face. "Wow! Only three weeks in and you've already got admirers, huh?"

Souji rolled his eyes, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "She thinks she loves me, or so she said. She doesn't even know me. And I don't even know her name!"

He could feel the other studying him again, like he was something to decipher. "Yeah, girls are kinda bold when it comes to confessing, huh? I don't think I could ever have the balls to do something like that."

"Bold. Or foolish, is another word I'd use."

"You really don't like being confessed to."

Souji met Yosuke-kun's eyes, his gaze softening slightly at the genuine look in those brown eyes. "I just... I guess it's just another old-fashioned thing about me. I'd like to actually get to know someone before the word 'love' is thrown around so casually."

Yosuke-kun hummed thoughtfully, nodding as he leaned back from his case study of Souji's body language. "No, I get it. You've got it right. Love's a serious thing. I'm totally on your side on this one."

The wink thrown his way had Souji finally cracking a smile. " ... I was kind of a dick to her, though."

"I kinda doubt you could actually be a dick to anyone if you tried. Besides, I'm sure she'll get over it."

"Hey, I could be a dick if I wanted to be one!" Souji held a hand to his chest in protest.

Yosuke-kun snorted at that. "I'll believe it when I see it."

* * *

When he had Ethics again two days later, Souji was greeted by a few withering stares from the girl who tried to confess to him and who he assumed were her friends. Ignoring their whispers, Souji found a seat and pulled out his textbook and notepad to focus on what really mattered. The class passed by easily enough and was successful in avoiding any confrontation.

Or so he'd thought. Right before rounding a corner on his way to grab some lunch, the group of girls found him and one of them called out to him. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Souji turned around with a practiced look of indifference on his face.

"Is there something I can help you all with?"

One of the girl's friends stepped forward. "Yeah. I think you owe Akane-chan an apology for the way you broke her heart."

Souji's eyes met Akane's, who crossed her arms with a soured expression, before looking back to the person in front of him. "Yes, of course. I do apologise if I hurt Akane-san's feelings."

"Good. Now how about you go out with her to make up for it?" The devious smirk on her face had Souji's blood boiling.

"I already told your friend that I am not interested in pursuing a relationship with her. And I don't think it would be fair to her if I went out with her when there is not even a slight chance that I will return the feelings she thinks she has for me." Souji's voice was cold and unfeeling.

"Oh, come on, what harm could one date do? She's a catch! You'd be lucky to be with Akane-chan!"

"I'm sure she is a very nice girl and she will find someone who will treat her well, but as I have already said twice now: I am not interested. Now I would appreciate it if we could behave as adults and move past this."

"Go to Hell. You'll never find a girl who's better than me." Akane-san finally spoke up, anger dripping from her words.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not interested in girls, then, isn't it? Please don't confront me like this again." Giving them no chance to pick their jaws up from the ground, Souji continued his walk to the dining hall.

Souji's hands were shaking against the strap of his bag, his heart hammering in his chest. He just came out. He actually just did that. The first time he had ever told anyone that he was uninterested in women as a whole, and it was some random group of annoying girls. He wasn't sure if it felt better or worse to have it out there in the world; because he was sure those girls were petty enough to spread that information. Though, not keeping his identity as a secret anymore felt somehow like a weight was being lifted from Souji's shoulders.

It wasn't as though he had ever particularly cared what other people thought of him. That level of caring left when he had lost all hope of ever gaining his parents' affection and support. Souji was by no means a very spiteful person, but the idea of this getting back to them and causing a problem for their 'perfect family image', he had to admit it made him feel a little better about the whole thing.

After a few minutes of internally debating his feelings on the matter, Souji was decidedly okay with being out. When he'd been preparing for university, he had told himself that this was finally the time when he could be one hundred percent himself and be the person he wanted to be. Now it was time to put that into action. All feelings of anger had shifted to that of content as Souji sat down to enjoy his lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's been reading so far! i've been having fun digging a little deeper into souji's thoughts and feelings and stuff. i hope you enjoyed this chapter and you're all staying safe and healthy! as usual, feel free to come find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/souyocrossing) if you'd like!


	4. Maybe Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Souji's never really had any friends, so it's a bit hard for him to recognise when a friendship has formed. But don't worry, Yosuke's here to help him with that.

"Seta-kun! Seta-kun, wait up!"

A cheerful voice called out to him, tearing him away from his thoughts. Souji looked up to see Satonaka-san and Amagi-san heading his way. He slowed his steps to allow them to catch up.

"Good afternoon." He tilted his head towards them as they fell into place beside him.

"Good afternoon, Seta-kun." Amagi-san offered him a kind smile with a hint of an apologetic look in her eyes.

"So we heard about what happened with that Akane girl yesterday! You're kind of a legend now. We used to go to high school with her and her friends and they were your typical mean girl clique and I guess they still think they're in high school or something. How lame, right?" Satonaka-san had no problem being the talkative one amongst them and Souji actually found himself grateful for that.

Souji's eyebrows quirked up. "So they've always been like that?"

"Yeah, they used to do that to guys to try and make them look bad all the time like it was some sick joke." Satonaka-san rolled her eyes. "Sorry they picked you for their first victim here."

"To be honest, I'm kind of glad it happened. It was a push I hadn't known I'd needed." Souji shrugged nonchalantly.

Amagi-san smiled at his words, her eyes on her girlfriend. "I think I can understand that."

"Aw man, I was really hopin' you'd be pissed or something so I had an excuse to go and kick their sorry butts." Satonaka-san frowned with her hands on her hips, causing Amagi-san to double over in a fit of giggles.

Souji looked startled by the sudden onslaught of laughter but before he could question it, Satonaka-san spoke up again. "She does this all the time, don't worry about it. We'll see you in class!"

He watched her take Amagi-san's hand and drag her off, an almost fond smile playing on his lips.

* * *

By the time his classes had ended on Friday afternoon, it seemed like everyone had thankfully moved on from Souji's interesting week. That, or they were just being much quieter about it. Either way, Souji was glad for it as he stretched his legs out beneath the small coffee table in the common area of his dorm, laptop balanced securely on his lap. He was sipping on a surprisingly good latte he'd snagged from the campus coffee shop on his way back and working on a rough draft for a literature paper that was due the following week, humming along quietly to a song he'd had stuck in his head all day.

"You've got good taste."

Souji knew that voice by now, not even having to look up from his screen. "Hello to you, too."

The cushion beside him sank in a little as Yosuke-kun took the unoccupied spot, digging through his bag to pull out his own computer. "Oh, right, forgive me for not properly greeting you, Mr. Old Fashioned. My most humble apologies, good sir. Please have pity upon my poor soul."

Souji bit the inside of his cheek to hold back the grin that threatened to escape. "Smartass."

He could see the other smiling from the corner of his eye. "Anyway, as I was saying, you've got good taste in music."

"What makes you say that?"

"That song you were humming when I walked in. Troye Sivan, right?"

Souji finished typing out his current thought before he answered, finally looking over at Yosuke-kun. "Well, you are the music expert here."

"And as the Resident Music Expert, I gotta say, you have a nice voice." Yosuke-kun was now pointedly not looking up from his laptop where he was typing away at something.

Souji's face heated slightly, clearing his throat as he took another drink from his cup. "Thank you for saying that, but I'm sure yours is much better."

"Guess you'll have to wait and find out sometime, huh?" The brunet seemed to have gained back the confidence Souji rather liked seeing on his face, brandishing what Souji was coming to realise was Yosuke-kun's signature wink.

They worked in silence for a while after that, the quiet clicking sounds as they worked comforting him in a way. Souji had finished the three page draft, looking over his notes to be sure he didn't miss anything. As he was debating whether or not to start on editing and working on the final draft, he heard Yosuke-kun rummaging through his bag. He was mumbling to himself as Souji spoke up.

"Something wrong?"

"Hm? Oh, no, I just think I left my wallet in my room." Yosuke-kun zipped back up a pocket, leaning back in his seat again.

"What did you want from the vending machine?" Souji met his eyes and smiled.

Yosuke-kun ran his fingers through his hair, returning the smile with ease. "I was just gonna grab whatever coffee's in stock."

Without a second thought, Souji grabbed his half-finished latte and offered it up. "You um, you can some of mine. If you want. Or the rest of it, actually, I probably don't need any more caffeine in me today, anyway."

"You sure?" Yosuke-kun seemed hesitant to grab the cup, his hand not quite outstretched enough to take hold.

Souji nodded, all but shoving the coffee into Yosuke-kun's hand himself. Thankfully he didn't hear any more protesting, but he felt fingers graze his own and Souji willed himself not to jerk away so the liquid didn't spill. Once free of the cup, Souji quickly set his hands back on his keyboard, tilting his head down lower as if he was suddenly having trouble reading his own words on the screen. He was not, in his peripheral vision, watching as Yosuke-kun's lips touched the lid and drank from it. Nope. Not paying attention to that. Not thinking about the fact that not two minutes before, his own lips were on that same spot. Souji was most assuredly _not_ doing anything of the sort.

"Hey, that's pretty good. Thanks, Souji-kun."

"No need. It's just from the coffee shop over by the library."

"Sweet! I'll definitely have to start going there."

Souji chanced looking up, surprised to find that Yosuke-kun's eyes met his immediately. He only nodded once more, his lips lifted upwards warmly. Yosuke-kun pulled out his phone, apparently having gotten a message. He sighed before saving his work and packing his things back up while Souji watched him quietly.

"That was one of the guys from my composition class. We've got this piece we have to work on and I guess the only time they've both got free is like, right now, so I gotta go. But um. Would it be okay- that is, uh-" Yosuke-kun grumbled to himself for a moment before meeting Souji's grey eyes once more. "Could I get your number?"

Souji blinked, eyes widened slightly. "You want my number?"

Yosuke-kun's cheeks flushed red at that, making Souji's heart pound in his chest. "I-I mean. Yeah. If that's okay? I just thought, y'know, friends usually have each other's info so they can text and stuff."

"You ... want to be my friend?" For some reason, Souji was dumbfounded at those words.

Yosuke-kun laughed at that, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he held out his phone to Souji. "I kinda thought we already were friends by now."

Souji fumbled to pull his own phone out from his front pocket, handing it to Yosuke-kun in turn. After he'd put in his info and they'd taken their own phones back, Yosuke-kun stood, the grin on his face never leaving.

"I'll text ya later!"

Souji raised a hand to wave after him, slumping in his seat once he could no longer see Yosuke-kun's retreating form. He let the hand holding his phone fall against his chest, smiling to himself as he let out a deep breath. Just as he'd slowed his heart rate and was about to get back to editing his paper, Souji's phone buzzed in his hand.

> 18:32 ✉ **Yosuke** || _thx again 4 the coffee!_ (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ

His smile widened, a chuckle rumbling past his lips as he typed up and sent out a reply. Yosuke, Souji decided, was really something else. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello y'all! i hope you like this chapter! we're finally starting to see souji become a little more open and, of course, getting some sweet souyo moments in here. i'm kinda excited for the next chapter, so i hope you will be looking forward to it as well! thank you to everyone who has given kudos, a comment, liked/retweeted my promo posts on twitter and tumblr, or even just took a moment out of your day to give this a look. i genuinely appreciate all of you so very much. as always, i'm super active on [twitter](https://twitter.com/souyosona)!


	5. The First Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's a true college experience without your first party, right? Souji never thought he'd go to one himself, nor did he think he'd enjoy it, but life's full of surprises.

Souji was quick to figure out that Yosuke was a very enthusiastic texter. Since exchanging numbers, there was rarely more than an hour or two that passed by that they weren't messaging, unless they were in class. He wasn't sure if it was because they'd only just become texting friends last week or if this was just how Yosuke was, but something told him it was probably the latter. All he knew was that he didn't mind it at all. He'd never had someone text him so much before. Any other time he'd exchanged numbers with anyone it was only so they could ask him for help with their schoolwork. Or more accurately, to see if they could copy off of him.

But this was different. Yosuke talked to him about the most random of things, like what he was having for breakfast or something that happened in one of his classes that he thought was funny. It was nice, having an actual friend. Though he still couldn't believe someone like Yosuke would want to be friends with someone as plain as Souji.

> 15:03 ✉ **Yosuke** || _hey i hve a ?_
> 
> 15:05 ✉ **Souji** || _I might have an answer._
> 
> 15:05 ✉ **Yosuke** || _wat r u doin tonite?_
> 
> 15:07 ✉ **Souji** || _Reading for my Lit class. Why do you ask?_
> 
> 15:10 ✉ **Yosuke** || _well ther's this prty my frnds from music theory r thrwin n i wanted to c if u mayb wanted 2 go w me_

The one complaint Souji had about Yosuke's texting was all of the shorthands that sometimes took him far longer than it should to decipher what he was trying to say. He read the text over twice before fully understanding, blinking in surprise. A party? Yosuke was inviting him to a party? He'd never been to a party. The only knowledge he had of what parties consisted of was what he'd seen on tv or in movies, and something told him those probably weren't very accurate accounts.

If he said yes, then he'd get to spend time with Yosuke, which he'd come to really enjoy. And it'd be outside of a studying environment or in the wee hours of the morning when they had to escape their inbetween neighbour's weekly conquests. If he said yes, though, what if he hated it? What if Yosuke regretted bringing him because Souji was a boring person who didn't know how to party? Yosuke was probably the type who'd been to dozens of parties. He was outgoing and fun to be around and probably the funniest person Souji'd ever met.

Souji bit at his bottom lip as he debated, his phone buzzing again with another message alert. He didn't realise how long he had gone without responding.

> 15:25 ✉ **Yosuke** || _its ok if u dnt wanna! i kno its probs not ur scene so ther's no pressure!_
> 
> 15:26 ✉ **Souji** || _No, um. I've just never been to a party before._
> 
> 15:28 ✉ **Yosuke** || _oh that's ok! itll be rly fun n i wont leave ur side, ok?_
> 
> 15:30 ✉ **Yosuke** || _n if u hate it or start 2 feel uncomfortable then we can leave @ anytime, promise!_
> 
> 15:31 ✉ **Souji** || _Are you sure?_
> 
> 15:32 ✉ **Yosuke** || _ofc! i can stop by n pick u up around lik 8? is tht ok? n if u chnge ur mind, just tell me, i totlly get it_
> 
> 15:34 ✉ **Souji** || _Okay. Thank you. I'll see you at 8, then._
> 
> 15:34 ✉ **Yosuke** || °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

* * *

Souji did some of the reading he had planned to do that evening, managing to push off his freak out until about seven o'clock. It was as though the second he realised the time, an alarm went off in Souji's brain telling him _'yes, now it's time to panic'_. He had no idea what to wear to a party. It would help if he knew what Yosuke was wearing, but he couldn't just ask that because that was just really weird for one guy to ask another guy, right? Souji didn't want Yosuke to think he was any weirder than he already probably did. The only other person he could think to even ask was Nanako, and she was eight, so she'd probably be very little help unfortunately.

Twenty minutes later, Souji'd decided on a light blue button down shirt and a pair of black jeans. The kind that ridiculously already had tears in them that Nanako had convinced him to buy with a _'Big Bro, you'd look so cool in these!'_. They weren't really his usual style, but if he was going to do something he'd never done before what better to wear than something also out of his comfort zone. After spending an embarrassing amount of time fussing over his hair, Souji nodded to himself in his reflection.

"Well, probably about as good as it's going to get."

Just as he was about to check his phone for the time, he heard a knock at the door. He told himself it was completely normal for his heart to start trying to escape his chest as he took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Hey!" Yosuke's voice was as vibrant as always, and Souji already felt his nerves fading a little bit just at the sight of him. Even if the sight of him wearing bright red skinny jeans that hugged his long legs and a striped scoop-necked t-shirt that hung off one of his shoulders _just right_ made Souji's heart pick up speed for a whole different reason.

"Hi, Yosuke-kun." Snapping out of _that_ line of thinking, Souji offered his friend as big a smile as he could manage.

Yosuke toyed with the padding on one side of his ever-present headphones, clearing his throat before meeting Souji's eyes again. "Y-You ready?"

Souji nodded, slipping on a pair of sneakers and making sure he had his keys, wallet, and phone. He stepped out and let his door close and lock behind him. "Lead the way."

They made their way down the stairs and out of their dormitory, Yosuke leading them past the bus stop nearest their building. He stopped just as they were about to round the corner that would take them to the street and off campus. "Oh shit. I probably should have mentioned before but the party's at my friends' house and it's like a ten minute walk from here. Is that okay?"

"That's no problem. You worry too much, Yosuke-kun." Souji smiled to himself, fidgeting with the bottom of his shirt.

Yosuke looked a bit surprised, but mostly relieved as he rolled his eyes and started walking again. "So there shouldn't be too many people there. The guys from my class share this house with a couple other dudes, so I guess it's kinda big, but I don't think there'll be more than maybe forty; fifty max. Nothing too crazy, but like I said, if it gets overwhelming or anything, all you have to do is say the word and we'll go!"

"Fifty people's not crazy?" Souji chuckled, eyes taking in their surroundings so he'd remember the way back, just in case.

"I mean, one time I went to a party and there were over two-hundred people there, so at least it won't be that bad."

"Two-hundred?!"

Yosuke laughed as what Souji assumed was their destination came into view. He could see a small group of people their age filing into the house and the closer they got, the louder the music became. Souji's nerves returned, a knot forming in his stomach. Yosuke hopped up the few steps onto the front porch, turning around with an easygoing smile. How could Souji ever say no to that smile?

The atmosphere inside was like nothing he'd ever been in before. It was _loud_ ; there were people dancing in the living room, people playing what looked like beer pong in one of the other rooms, people crowded in the kitchen with red plastic cups in their hands. It was a lot more than Souji had ever been around in a non-class setting and it was a bit overwhelming, not that he was about to say that out loud.

Yosuke really seemed to be in his element. Every couple of people they passed greeted him with friendly smiles or a high-five or something. Souji just followed him like a lost puppy, not really sure what to make of it all. He didn't know anyone else here and he was starting to wonder why Yosuke invited him since it wasn't as thought he really fit in with the rest of the partygoers.

"Yo, Hanamura! Glad you made it!"

"Hey, Ichijou! Got a pretty good turnout, huh?" Yosuke grinned as he looked from his friend back to Souji. "This is Souji-kun."

The friend held out his hand towards Souji. "Nice to meet you, I'm Ichijou Kou."

"Seta Souji. Thank you for inviting me into your home." Souji shook his hand quickly.

"Not a prob!" Ichijou-kun and Yosuke talked for a few minutes before the host was being called to from across the living room. "I better go see what Dai-chan wants. You guys have fun alright?"

Ichijou-kun winked at Yosuke, who flushed immediately, before he left the pair alone again. Souji watched him leave and wondered why Yosuke'd had that kind of reaction. The brunet coughed, causing Souji to look over at him.

"Do you, uh, want a drink?"

"Is it all alcohol?"

Yosuke chuckled, tossing an arm around Souji's shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world to do. "Let's go see."

It turned out that there actually were quite a few non-alchoholic beverages, but Souji decided that if he was really going to try this whole party thing that he'd have at least one beer. Yosuke was shocked, to say the least, but grabbed two cups for them and had Souji wait off to the side while he stood in line for the keg.

While Souji waited, he tried not to be so blatantly obvious in his staring, sweeping his eyes around the other guests. His gaze always fell right back to Yosuke, though, so after a few minutes he stopped trying. Yosuke was chatting with another girl in the line. A girl who, by the looks of it, definitely had a thing for Yosuke. She twirled a strand of her hair around her finger as they chatted, seeming to laugh at almost everything Yosuke said. Souji felt like he was spying on something private, and yet it only made him even more unable to look away.

Yosuke met his grey eyes as the girl was getting her cup filled causing Souji to finally look away, trying to act as if he hadn't just been openly watching him. He tried to push down whatever he was feeling, confused and a little bit irritated. Why did he care so much that that girl was flirting with Yosuke? It's not like it was any of his business. He should be happy for his friend and root for him to get the girl. Instead, Souji felt something hot in his chest, leaving a sour taste in his mouth.

Suddenly, there was something bright red in his face and Souji shook himself out of his thoughts to focus. "Your beer, m'sir."

"Thank you." Souji took the cup, glancing down into the contents and giving it a good sniff, his nose scrunching up at the scent. "Smells ... interesting."

Yosuke laughed, taking a sip of his own. "You get used to it. Same with the taste."

Souji quirked an eyebrow, chancing a drink himself. The taste was rather unpleasant, but the warmth it left behind felt kind of nice. He took a bigger gulp, face screwed up as he swallowed.

"Whoaaa, take it easy there. Trust me, you don't want to overdo it your first time." Yosuke was smiling at him and it only made the warmth he was beginning to feel grow stronger.

Souji nodded, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Yosuke led them into the living room, finding a spot near the front window to rest against. They nursed their drinks for a while as they watched the festivities around them. Souji eyed Yosuke, feeling guilty for keeping him from going and having fun with these people; with his other friends.

"You should go join them. I'll be fine over here for awhile."

Yosuke just shook his head, smiling. "No way. I told you I won't leave your side."

There was that feeling in his chest again - warm and demanding. Souji downed the rest of his beer to hide his probably visible blush. "But these are your friends, too, right? I feel like I'm keeping you from having fun with them."

"Yeah, but you're not. I'm having plenty of fun with you." Yosuke perked up as the song blaring through the house changed to one he must have liked. He took Souji's empty cup and stacked it with his own before tossing them in a nearby garbage bag before turning to face Souji fully. "But ... I'd be having even more fun if you danced with me."

"That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. I probably have two left feet or something." Souji protested, holding his hands up as he shook his head.

Yosuke just rolled his eyes, taking hold of one of those hands and dragging him over towards the group of people dancing around like they had not a single care in the world. Souji didn't know what to do with his feet and Yosuke still had a grip on his hand for some reason and that was muddling his entire thought process because he was so focused on the new information that Yosuke's hand was soft, but had callouses along his fingers that must have been from playing guitar. Yosuke was laughing, swaying happily and trying to help Souji loosen up and wave his arms around like an idiot. Eventually, Souji managed to stop overthinking it and he laughed alongside Yosuke as they jumped around with the others. It was fun. It was really fun.

They danced like that for another two songs before Souji had to use the restroom. He found it pretty easily and was considering grabbing another cup of beer as he washed his hands. Making his way back out to the living room, he noticed Yosuke leaning against the spot they'd been in before their dancing with that same girl from earlier. He had no idea what possessed him in that moment, but he all but marched over there and moved in beside Yosuke, practically leaning into his side.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Yosuke, there was a line." Souji smiled at Yosuke before fixing the girl with a cold look. She blinked, remaining unphased.

"S'okay. Saki-senpai here was just asking me what kind of guitar I played." Yosuke was watching him curiously, his eyebrows raised in intrigue.

"I see. Well, I was going to see if you wanted to grab another beer and teach me how to play beer pong, but if you're busy-"

Yosuke's eyes widened, a thousand-watt grin taking over his features. "Wait, really? Hell yeah, dude, let's go!" He was practically jumping up and down from excitement, waving back to the girl as he followed Souji out of the room. "See ya around, Saki-senpai!"

* * *

As it turned out, Souji was really good at beer pong. They'd beaten the reigning champs of the night and two other teams after that before the second beer started to really hit him. This being the first time he'd had so much as a drop of alcohol, he supposed it wasn't that out of the ordinary. Though Yosuke had made a joke about him being a lightweight. Souji wasn't sure if he was fully drunk, or just very tipsy, all he knew was that he was definitely not sober anymore.

He felt like his whole body was a hundred pounds lighter, laughter bubbling up at the slightest of things. It was just past midnight when Yosuke asked him if he was ready to leave and Souji nodded, trying to focus on not falling over. Yosuke said goodbye to a few people, including Ichijou-kun, before grabbing two water bottles and handing one to Souji.

"Drink some water, okay?"

Souji stared at the bottle like he'd never seen one before in his life, taking far too long to realise how to open it and then downing half the thing in one go. He breathed out loudly, wiping his mouth with a laugh. "Hey Yosuke?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Beer is kinda gross." Souji doubled over in laughter, making them stop so he could get a hold of himself.

Yosuke laughed with him, and man, did Souji really love the sound of Yosuke's laugh. "Yeah, it kinda is."

They resumed their walk and after Souji almost stumbled into the street, Yosuke had wrapped his arm around Souji's waist, pulling him close and it was all he could do to keep himself from saying anything too embarrassing in his intoxicated state. Yosuke smelled nice, like citrus. His cologne, maybe? No, it was more likely his shampoo or something. It was a comforting scent and Souji found himself walking slower so he could stay like this a little longer.

By the time the boys reached their dorm, Souji had sobered up enough to walk like a normal person again. Yosuke removed his arm in order to hold the door open for Souji, who merely bowed his head slightly in thanks and stepped inside. The walk upstairs and down the hall was quick and quiet before they both stopped in front of Souji's door.

"Thanks for coming with me." Yosuke was once again rubbing at his headphones, something Souji was beginning to think he did when he was nervous.

"Thank you for inviting me. I really did have a lot of fun." Souji smiled genuinely. 

"Me too! Maybe we can do it again sometime?"

"It's a date." Flushing immediately, Souji sputtered and tried to rectify the situation. "I-I mean, yeah, yeah that'd be. I'd like that."

Yosuke grinned, turning to walk to his own door. "It's a date, then." Looking back just long enough to send one of his infamous winks Souji's way, he disappeared into his room, leaving a speechless Souji with a face as red as Yosuke's jeans.

After changing into his sleeping clothes and burrowing into his blanket, Souji's phone buzzed where it lay charging beside his head.

> 01:00 ✉ **Yosuke** || _idk if ur asleep alrdy but make sure u tke some asprin n drnk mor watr asap_
> 
> 01:00 ✉ **Yosuke** || _sweet dreams souji_

His chest filled to the brim with the sticky-sweet warmth that had been building up each day since he'd first met Yosuke. And as he let the light from his phone fade on its own, Souji buried his face in his pillow, his heart in his throat. _Oh._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiya again! hope the change in username isn't too confusing or anything! thank you so very much if you've been reading this or are just coming in now! thank you all for the kudos, comments, subs, bookmarks, and all of the support on twitter and tumblr. you have no idea how much i appreciate each and every one of you. your kindness is everything. i hope you like this chapter as much as i enjoyed writing it. also f in the chat for having to deal with yosuke's ridiculous texting style. i'm a virgo, and i can't tell you how difficult it is for me to deal with his shit lol. anyway, enough of my chatter, please enjoy this and as always, feel free to come find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/souyosona) / [tumblr!](http://souyosona.tumblr.com) <3


	6. Have a Little Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A leisurely stroll, a happy melody, and a bit of resolve. A pretty good night, overall, if you asked Souji.

Contrary to how things worked in romantic comedies, coming to the realisation that one had feelings for someone did not magically change everything. The only thing that really changed for Souji was the fact that he was now hyper aware of how he felt when he was around Yosuke. It had been so long since Souji last had any semblance of a crush on anyone that he felt a bit overwhelmed with the foreign feelings. Nothing had ever come from the couple of crushes he'd had in high school. If not due to the fact that he was so closed off and unwilling to let anyone in because what was the point when he just had to move again a few months later, but also because there was very little chance those boys would have returned his affections in the first place. And it wasn't like Souji could have come out then, he couldn't have risked it getting back to his parents.

But now it was different. He was out - very publicly thanks to that whole Akane-san incident. He was sure Yosuke had to know or have heard about it from someone else on campus, and he wasn't treating Souji any differently because of it so that had to be a good thing at least. Even if nothing came of these feelings, he was just happy to have Yosuke in his life.

Especially on nights like this, when their inconsiderate neighbour was making it known that yes, they were getting laid on a regular basis. If it weren't for Yosuke, he probably would have lost his mind by now being woken up at two in the morning nearly every single weekend. Though, Souji supposed this was helping him prepare for when exam time came around and he'd have to pull all-nighters studying.

"You wanna go get some air?" Like it always seemed to be able to do, Yosuke's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

Souji nodded, setting the book he'd been trying (and failing) to read onto the table beside him. He got up and stretched, waiting for Yosuke to finish buying what Souji assumed was his usual orange soda from one of the vending machines. Yosuke held out a bottle of milk tea. Souji blinked up at him before taking the bottle with a smile.

"They were out of the strawberry, sorry." Yosuke took a sip of his orange Fanta, leading the way downstairs and outside.

"O-Oh, that's okay. Thank you."

As cliche as he knew it sounded, Souji felt like his heart really did skip a beat, thumb running over the label of the bottle. Had he mentioned that strawberry milk tea was his favourite or had he just gotten it from the vending machine so often that Yosuke figured it out for himself? Did he really pay attention to something as small as that? Souji was trying very hard not to read too much into this. It was just a kind gesture for a friend. Besides, Souji also knew what Yosuke tended to grab so it wasn't like it was that much of a surprise, right? Right.

It was quiet outside; peaceful. There were a few straggling students walking around, which was pretty normal for a Saturday night. The night air was crisp, a near perfect temperature as Spring was beginning to shift into Summer. Souji smiled as a breeze ruffled his hair, the taste of milk tea lingering on his tongue and the faint now familiar scent of citrus wafting his way. Yosuke was staring at the sky and humming to himself, hands folded behind his neck like he didn't have a care in the world. It made Souji's smile grow to see him this way.

"What song is that?"

Yosuke tilted his head to meet Souji's eyes. "Hm? Oh, um. It's just some melody that I've been working on."

"Is it something for one of your classes?" Souji was even more intrigued now.

"Nah, though I should be working on that instead." Yosuke chuckled to himself. "I just can't seem to get this out of my head."

Souji hummed in thought. He wasn't a musician like Yosuke, so he didn't really understand how that part of him worked. He really wanted to, though. He wanted to know about every piece of Yosuke's mind; wanted to know everything about him.

"I think ... that if you can't get it out of your head, then you should let yourself feel it."

Yosuke's eyes stared into his own for a moment before he looked back up towards the sky, a thoughtful smile on his lips. "Yeah, I think you're right."

"Do you often think in melodies?"

"Probably a lot more than would be considered normal, yeah." Yosuke laughed, seeming to feel a bit embarrassed in admitting that. "I don't really know how to describe it, but it's kinda like my brain registers everything differently. Like there's always a movie soundtrack playing. It sounds kinda crazy, but it's almost like I can see music just as much as I can hear it."

"I don't think that sounds crazy."

"Have you ever seen The Little Mermaid?"

Souji furrowed his brow at the question, but nodded all the same.

"You know that scene where they're on the lake or whatever, and all of the nature and animals were coming together to create the music for that crab guy? It's like that. If that makes sense."

"Perfect sense. What do you hear right now?" Souji couldn't stop himself from asking more, his interest piqued.

Yosuke stopped walking, eyes closing as he stood perfectly still. Souji watched him, taking in the way the moonlight made his tanned skin almost glow. Soon, he heard humming again, different than the melody before. He couldn't describe quite what it sounded like, but he thought it kind of sounded like the calm breeze that joined them on their stroll; gentle and full of life. When Yosuke stopped and opened his eyes again, their gazes locked and Souji felt his breath catch in his throat. He forced himself to look away like he hadn't been staring the entire time.

"It sounds happy."

"Yeah, well, I mean, my mood usually has an effect on what I hear, too." Yosuke grinned, resuming his earlier lazy stride.

Souji felt his cheeks heat with colour, his voice hushed as he spoke again. "If that's the case, I hope all of the melodies in your head sound happy."

"Lately they do." Yosuke's eyes flickered from the sky, to Souji, and back in a matter of seconds.

Souji had no idea what he was doing. He told himself he wasn't going to hope so much for his feelings to be returned, but the more he listened to Yosuke and the more he learned about him and the more time they spent together; the more he wanted to give in and hope. Nothing would ever have even a shred of a chance of working out if he never let himself hope. So that's what he was going to do. Worst case, he'd break his own heart and he'd only have himself to blame for it. But that was a problem for Future Souji to deal with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you, as always, for reading and supporting this fic and me by extension! i truly appreciate each and every one of you, i cannot say it enough. you really help keep me motivated and feeling like what i'm doing is actually worth something haha. anyway, i hope you enjoy this chapter and keep looking forward for more to come. we may or may not be getting pretty close to ending this little slow burn. also idk if i should have tagged this slow burn bc in my mind slow burn means like at least 10-15 chapters before confessions/kisses/etc. anyway lol i'm gonna stop blubbering. ily all for your support here, on twitter, and on tumblr. <3


	7. Family Weekend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's family weekend and the Dojimas and the Hanamuras are here to visit their boys! There's lots of love and fun to go around and plenty of pizza, too.

It was a warm June day, the first Saturday of June to be specific. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and Souji was waiting at the front gates of his university for Dojima and Nanako to arrive. Around him, there were a plethora of other students either waiting for their loved ones or already chatting excitedly with them, making Souji even more restless to see his family for the first time in almost a year.  
"Big Bro!"

Souji opened his arms immediately upon hearing that very familiar voice, catching Nanako with ease and spinning her around. She clung to his neck as Dojima joined them and he shifted her weight to one side.

"Hey kid. Long time, no see." Dojima went in for a hug, arms wrapping around the both of them with a smile.

"Hi Uncle. How was the drive?"

"Not bad. Once this one fell asleep and stopped asking how long it would be until we were here." Dojima poked at Nanako's forehead, causing her to giggle.

"I just missed you so much Big Bro!"

Souji's heart felt as though it might burst with happiness, his smile wide. "I missed you, too. Both of you."

Dojima ruffled his hair at that. "Alright ya saps. How's about we take you out for lunch and then you can give us that tour you promised?"

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

Souji guided Dojima to a ramen place up the road, as per Nanako's request, and they enjoyed a leisurely lunch. Nanako steered their conversations, as per usual, telling Souji about how she made a new friend at school and how she'd gotten the highest score in her class on her last book report. She made Dojima tell him about the new help the station had hired, giving him more free time to be at home with her. Souji listened to her with the utmost attention.

"Oh! Big Bro, will we get to meet any of your friends while we're here?"

He'd told her about Yosuke on more than a few of their phone calls, as well as Chie-san and Yukiko-san. He knew Nanako worried about Souji being all alone, she'd said as much back when he'd still been living with his parents. She may have only been eight years old, but she was wise beyond her years. Nanako had been through a lot in her life already, after all.

"Actually, Yosuke said he'd love to meet you. His mother and little brother, who's not much older than you, are visiting him this weekend as well and I could see if they might be up for dinner, if that's something you'd both be okay with." Souji smiled down at her before looking back up to see Dojima watching him.

Dojima had always been hard to read, nearly impossible. He supposed it was what made him such a good detective. Souji could tell that Dojima was trying to read him as well, not that he had anything to hide really. Well, that wasn't entirely true. There was one thing he hadn't told his Uncle or Nanako.

"He's important to you." It was a statement, not a question, in true trademark Dojima fashion.

Souji nodded without hesitation and Dojima cracked a smile, causing Souji to visibly relax. They left the restaurant and hopped back in the car, but before he could put the car in reverse, Souji cleared his throat. He wanted to get it out of the way now or he'd lose his nerve again.

"I- There's something that I wanted to tell you."

"You can tell us anything, Big Bro! Right, Dad?" Nanako spoke up from the backseat.

Dojima looked back at her before nodding and meeting Souji's eyes. "You're not in any trouble, are you?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that. It's just, um." Souji gulped, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. "I'm gay."

He managed to steel himself and open his eyes, nervously fidgeting with his hands as he waited for the silence to break. Of course it would be Nanako to speak up first.

"What does that mean, Big Bro?"

"It, well, it means that I like boys the way that boys are supposed to like girls."

"Oh, okay!" Nanako clapped her hands together once, somehow understanding and accepting it immediately. If only adults were that way.

"Is that all? Geez, ya had me worried there for a second." Dojima was looking at him with nothing but kindness in his eyes. "As long as you're happy, that's what matters."

Souji could feel his eyes welling with tears. "Thank you."

* * *

14:30 ✉ **Souji** || _Hey, Yosuke. I don't want to interrupt your family time, so feel free to ignore this._

14:45 ✉ **Yosuke** || _souji, hey! sup?_

14:47 ✉ **Souji** || _Well, Nanako said she really wanted to meet you so I was thinking that maybe if you and your family didn't have plans that we could all get dinner together?_

14:50 ✉ **Yosuke** || _rly?? omg yea im sure mom n teds would luv tht_ ＼(＾▽＾)／ 

14:53 ✉ **Souji** || _Would 7 be alright?_

15:00 ✉ **Yosuke** || _yep! we'll c u then_ (⁀ᗢ⁀)

* * *

Souji put on his best tour guide impression and led Nanako and Dojima around campus. He showed them all of the different buildings, where all of his classes were, the library, his favourite coffee place, and everything in between. Nanako was entranced by everything, asking a hundred questions every time they reached a new area.

"And this is my room." Souji opened the door, allowing them to enter before him.

"This is so cool, Big Bro!" Nanako ran around to look at every nook and cranny of the small space. "Look, Dad, it's the picture we took when we went on that picnic!"

Dojima ventured to Souji's desk, grabbing the framed photo from Nanako to inspect it with a smile before placing it back on the wooden surface. "So it is. And look, he's got your school picture over here, too."

"Yeah! Big Bro, how's come you don't have any pictures with any of your friends?" Nanako had taken a seat on his bed, eyeing the books on the shelf on the wall nearest to it.

"I just haven't gotten any pictures with them yet, that's all." Souji sat beside her, ruffling her hair while she laughed.

"I bet you'll have lots of them soon!"

A knock on the door startled them out of their little bubble and Souji went to answer it, a smile immediately pulling at his lips. "You're early."

"Yeah, well, Teddie's been bouncing off the walls since I told him about dinner and I couldn't take it anymore." Yosuke rolled his eyes for emphasis as said little brother appeared from behind him.

"That's beary mean, Yosuke. Mama said you need to be nicer to me!" Teddie was stomping his foot, a pout on his face.

"She did not. Now, stop being so dramatic or you don't get to come with us."

"She did so!"

Their mother appeared then, a hand over her mouth to hide laughter. "Boys, please. I swear I can't let you out of my sight for more than two minutes." She ushered them out of the way, bowing her head briefly before meeting Souji's eyes with a warm smile. "You must be Souji, it's very nice to finally meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too, Hanamura-san. Allow me to introduce you to my Uncle, Dojima Ryotaro, and my cousin, Nanako."

Dojima stepped forward to greet the family as Nanako tugged on Souji's hand. He smiled down at her before slipping out past the adults, closing his door behind them and guiding her towards Yosuke.

"Nanako, this is Yosuke."

Yosuke grinned, bending down to be eye level with her. "Wow, you're even cuter than Souji said, Nanako-chan!"

Her eyes lit up, matching his grin. "Thanks and you're even nicer than Big Bro said!"

"Oh, really?"

"Yep! And really funny!"

Yosuke looked up with a smirk while Souji very pointedly refused to meet his eyes. "Well, I do try. Have you met Teds yet? He's been real excited to meet you."

Nanako shook her head as Yosuke called Teddie over. Souji watched as the two kids hit it off immediately, as if they'd been friends forever.

"So you think I'm funny _and_ nice, huh?" He could hear the teasing grin in Yosuke's voice.

"Shut up."

* * *

For dinner, they'd gone to a pizza arcade hybrid restaurant, which ended up being a smashing success. After two large pizzas and a healthy competition on a few of the different games, Nanako and Teddie could barely keep their eyes open, having burned out all of their energy. After they'd been dropped back off on campus and said their goodbyes until tomorrow, Souji and Yosuke walked back to their dorm feeling content.

"That was a lot of fun. I can't believe how good Nanako-chan was at that fighting game." Yosuke stretched his arms out in front of him, flexing his fingers like they'd just gone through some rigorous exercise.

"Yeah, sorry, that's probably my fault. When I lived with them, we used to play a lot of Street Fighter."

"Huh. I never really took you for a video game kinda guy, to be honest."

Souji chuckled at that, reaching up to fix his fringe as a particularly strong breeze blew through his hair. "I'm just full of surprises."

"I think it's really cute how she calls you her 'big bro'. You guys are so close. If I hadn't known beforehand, I would have never guessed that Dojima-san wasn't your father, too."

"I wish he was." Souji's voice was barely above a whisper, eyes downcast.

Yosuke watched him in silence for a few minutes before he spoke up again. "Did I ever tell you that Teddie's adopted?"

Souji looked up, shaking his head. He couldn't say he was exactly surprised, given Teddie's bright blue eyes and blonde hair that didn't look a thing like Yosuke or his Mom. He'd just thought maybe he got that from their father.

"Yeah. When he was not even a year old, my Dad found him abandoned in a basket outside of Junes and brought him home. They took him to the police station, but there was no one looking for him and they searched for months trying to find his family. Obviously they didn't have any luck, and Teddie was going to go into the foster system, but my mom had grown so attached to him and well, you know how that ended." Yosuke smiled as he reminisced. "Anyways, what I'm tryin' to say is that just because someone brought you into this world, that doesn't make them your family. If you think of Dojima-san as your Dad, then I'd say that makes him your Dad. Besides, if you ask me, I think he already thinks of you like his own son, too."

Souji's eyes widened at that. "What makes you say that?"

"Because he looks at you the same way he looks at Nanako." Yosuke shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I never noticed."

"Yeah, you might be crazy smart, but sometimes you can be super oblivious."

"Wait, what else have I been oblivious to?"

Yosuke just shook his head, a mischievous smirk on his face. "Nuh-uh. You'll have to figure that one out on your own."

"As if you aren't also oblivious to things."

He gaped at Souji. "I am not!"

"Yes, you are. For example, when we were at that party and there was that girl who kept coming to talk to you? She was so clearly into you and flirting with you and you had absolutely no idea."

"She was just being friendly."

"Oh, Yosuke." Souji clucked his tongue and shook his head in mock disappointment. "You're lucky you're so cute so you can get away with being a bit of a dimwit."

Yosuke's head practically spun to look at Souji who had just now realised he'd said that out loud. His face flushed immediately, trying to think of a way out of this. A guy could platonically call another guy cute, right? He could talk his way out of this, he was good at talking his way out of things. Even awkward situations where he just called his best friend _(and crush)_ cute, out loud, in the middle of an empty pathway just outside their dormitory.

"Did you just... call me cute?" He could see the dusting of red along Yosuke's cheeks.

"I, um. Well, I just. I meant that-" Souji swallowed nervously. Yosuke had stopped walking, so Souji did the same a few steps ahead of him. Did he really want to pretend he didn't mean what he said? Souji'd told himself he wanted to be more honest and open, with himself and with others. If he only did that when it was convenient for him, how would that be any better? ' _Fuck it._ ' "Yeah. I guess I did."

"Cute like ' _aw, cute, look at that dumb looking little dog rolling around in its own shit_ ' ? Or cute like ' _hey, you're cute, wanna grab coffee sometime_ ' ? "

And with every single ounce of courage and half-assed confidence Souji could muster, he turned around, stared directly into Yosuke's eyes, unblinking and unmoving, and smiled. "Hey, you're cute, wanna grab coffee sometime?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! i hope you guys like this chapter! a lot happens, but i hope that it came together well and doesn't seem too chopped up or badly paced or anything. i'm kinda nervous about that. anyway, thank you SO SO SO much for all of the support you have been giving this fic and me. all of the comments and kudos and everything on twitter/tumblr, i truly truly truly cannot thank you enough. to be honest, i'm not very confident in my writing, but i love souji and yosuke and p4 with all of my heart and i want to continue to create content for them and y'all for a long time because it's what i love. so thank you tremendously for supporting me and showing 'let's get lost' so much love. anywayyy, hopefully y'all aren't upset about the sort of cliffhanger? if that's what it is? and yeah i'm gonna go away now haha. <333


	8. The First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are really and truly beginning to fall into place for Souji. He has a loving family. He's going on his first date with the boy he likes. Everything is going well at school. Life, in this moment, is really good.

"Hey, you're cute, wanna grab coffee sometime?"

Yosuke was staring at Souji like he'd grown two heads and it wasn't doing anything to lessen the tightness in his chest. He felt like he was going to throw up. This was a bad idea. He should not have done that. He should not have said any of that. Now Yosuke was going to reject him and then things would be too awkward to go back to normal and he'd lose him altogether. Souji's thoughts were spiraling with every second that passed by in silence.

"Yes."

Souji's eyes widened almost comically. "What?"

"Yes, I wanna grab coffee with you sometime."

"Yosuke, you don't have to accept to spare my feel-"

Yosuke took the few steps forward necessary to be within touching distance, making Souji's heart race even faster. "Souji."

He blinked, trying his best to steady himself. "You know that I mean like a date, right?"

Yosuke nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Kinda hoped so."

"You did?" Souji was dumbfounded. He had to be dreaming. That's what this was. He was so worn out that he didn't remember getting to his room and falling asleep and now he was dreaming that Yosuke was agreeing to go on a date with him. It was the only logical explanation for this.

"Yeah, dummy. And here I thought I was being way too obvious." Chuckling, Yosuke reached forward to knock his knuckles against Souji's forehead.

Souji's whole face felt like it was on fire but he finally smiled back at the brunet. "That's my line."

"Guess we're both kinda dumb, huh?"

Like a balloon losing air, Souji let out a slow breath before erupting into genuine laughter. Before long, the both of them were doubled over in a fit of giggles, all tension and worry in the air dissipating into relief. A few minutes passed before the boys were able to pull themselves together and when they did, the smiles on both of their flushed faces were that of pure happiness.

"So, how about tomorrow?" Souji interrupted the comfortable silence that had fell over the pair.

"Tomorrow?"

"Dojima and Nanako are heading home after we have breakfast together in the morning. After your mother and Teddie-chan leave, let's grab that coffee." Souji's confidence was operating at full force now, his heart feeling lighter than it had in months.

Yosuke's breathtaking grin returned as he nodded enthusiastically. "I'm free at one."

"Then it's a date."

* * *

In the morning, Souji took Dojima and Nanako to the school dining hall for breakfast. Nanako had wanted to see what it was like, and who were they to tell her no? Dojima let her get whatever she wanted which ended up being a bowl of chocolate cereal, three slices of bacon, and a stack of pancakes topped with a heap of strawberries and whipped cream. They both knew there was probably no way she'd eat all of that, but she was happy so that's what mattered.

"I really liked Yosuke, Big Bro! I'm glad you have a friend like him. And Teddie was so funny, I hope we can play together again sometime." Nanako spoke excitedly between bites.

"Chew, swallow, then talk, Nanako." Dojima snickered, too amused to seriously scold her.

Souji laughed along as he watched her nod and chew her food properly. "I'm glad you had a good time. I know they all loved you."

"Maybe they can come visit us when you come home for the Summer!"

"That would be really fun. We'll have to see what they think when it gets closer to summer break, okay? And that's also if Dad would be okay with it."

Dojima made a choked sound, coughing as he swallowed a bite of egg. He stared at Souji in disbelief, but Souji only smiled back at him. Yosuke was right last night. He knew now that Dojima had been treating him like his own child for a long time now. He cared for Souji; loved Souji. And that was more than he could ever say for his biological parents.

"Are you okay, Daddy?" Nanako patted him on the back in worry.

"Sorry, that just took me by surprise is all."

"Bad surprise?" Souji watched him carefully.

Dojima shook his head and smiled and Souji could have sworn his eyes looked a little glossy. They finished eating soon after, and Souji walked them back to their car. Nanako clinged to him until he had to lift her into the backseat himself.

"Call me when you guys make it home safely, okay?" He leaned over to buckle her seatbelt for her and kiss her forehead. "I'll be home as soon as school lets out for the break, I promise."

"Okay. I love you, Big Bro." Nanako sniffled, squeezing his hand in both of her smaller ones.

"I love you more." Souji carefully closed her door before she could protest, smiling at her and waving from outside the window.

"So, 'Dad', huh?" Dojima was stomping out his cigarette as Souji turned around.

"So, you still haven't quit, huh?"

Dojima rolled his eyes. "Why do I gotta hear that shit from both my kids?"

"We'll stop when you do." Souji grinned as Dojima pulled him into a hug.

He stepped back to get in his own seat, starting the car and rolling down his window. "See you in a couple of months. Stay out of trouble."

"Don't worry. Drive safe!" He waved them off until he could no longer see their car, a bittersweet feeling in his chest.

* * *

Much like with the party, Souji found himself worrying about what to wear. But this time it was even worse because this time it was an actual date. Not only had he never even been on a date, he was going on this date with Yosuke. Even if someone pinched him right now, he'd probably still think he was dreaming. As much as Souji had told himself that he was going to let himself hope, he truly never believed that his feelings would actually be reciprocated.

Were they actually reciprocated? They hadn't exactly stated how they felt, Yosuke had just agreed to a coffee date. What if this was a joke? No, Yosuke would never be that cruel to him. Maybe it was just a way to let him down easy or maybe he wasn't sure how he felt so he agreed to the date as a test and then Yosuke would realise that he didn't have any feelings for Souji and it would be too awkward to come back from.

In any case, it was already close to one and there was no use losing any more time with all of the 'what ifs'. Deciding on a plain black fitted t-shirt and keeping on the same pair of jeans he'd started the day with, Souji told himself it was fine; that Yosuke already knew how he dressed in the almost three months they'd known each other so there was no point in trying to be overly impressive with his wardrobe.

Same as yesterday, there was a knock at his door, but this time it sent his nerves into hyperdrive. He crossed the room, patted at his hair one last time, and opened up to find Yosuke sporting a white shirt with three red cranes printed along the front and those same red jeans from the night of their first party.

"Hey." Souji's voice came out much more breathless than he'd hoped for.

"Hey." Yosuke's face was a little pink, his smile a little lopsided.

He could feel the butterflies trapped in his ribcage fluttering around almost like they were impatient as they trekked across campus towards the cafe. Souji didn't know how to do this, moving from friends to more than that. He wasn't sure what the protocol was or what he should be doing differently, if he should be doing anything differently. The walk was quiet, not necessarily uncomfortable, but definitely filled with an air of uncertainty and restlessness.

Souji, being the perfect gentleman he was, held the door open for Yosuke who laughed at the gesture. They found a table tucked away in one of the far corners of the shop, Yosuke taking the seat nearest the wall.

"What can I get for you?" Souji was still standing, his hand digging out his wallet.

"Will you make fun of me if I say I could really go for a caramel frapp right now?"

"Only a little bit." Winking, he moved to the counter to order and wait on their drinks.

When he returned, Yosuke was tapping away on his phone, brows furrowed in concentration. Souji set the drinks onto the table and took a seat. "Everything okay?"

Yosuke looked up, expression sheepish like he'd been caught doing something embarrassing. "Yeah, sorry, I just thought of some lyrics and wanted to write them down before I forgot. Thank you, by the way."

"You're welcome. You know you don't have to apologise for things like that, right?" Souji took a sip of his iced coffee, eyes trained on the brunet.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket before meeting Souji's gaze. "Yeah, I know, but this is different."

"It doesn't have to be that different. Or does it? I've, uh, never actually been on a date before."

Yosuke gawked at him. "You're kidding, right?"

Souji's cheeks heated up and he shook his head. "Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Because you're gorgeous so I just assumed you'd have people lining up to date you."

He could feel his blush covering his entire face and probably even his neck now. "Well, I wasn't really out or anything and I wasn't particularly... approachable until now."

"Yeah, that makes sense. I've been on a few dates with a couple of different girls, but they weren't really 'it', y'know? You're the first guy I've gone on a date with, though, so this is new to me, too, if that makes you feel a 'lil better."

"If that's the case, then I'm honoured." Souji winked, finally managing to get himself cooled down.

Yosuke laughed, taking a long drink. "If you say so. I've been out as bi for awhile now, but no guy's ever really caught my eye before."

"It was my hair, right? That's what got your attention."

"Oh, for sure. I mean, who has a full head of grey hair at our age? It's like an anomaly. Is it natural?"

"Completely natural. It runs in my family on my father's side. Though, I got my eyes from my mother, funnily enough."

"They suit you." Yosuke raised a hand to grab at his fringe. "I've been dyeing my hair this colour since the beginning of high school, but I've been thinking about changing it up."

"Oh yeah? Back to your natural colour or?"

"Yeah, it's a lot of work to keep up with touch-ups and stuff."

Souji hummed in understanding, swirling the ice around in his coffee before taking another drink. A comfortable quiet fell over the boys but Souji's mind was still racing. He wanted to talk about so many things. He wanted to reach out and touch Yosuke's cheek or hold his hand or do _something_ that would help him to believe that they were really doing this; that they were really crossing the line from just friends to dating. But he was so nervous, so insecure. He wasn't sure what Yosuke wanted or what Yosuke would be okay with and the words kept getting lodged in his throat.

Yosuke was the first to break the silence. "I like you." Souji's eyes met his in surprise. "Like, I mean, I _really_ like you. I don't think I've ever liked someone this much. I just thought you should know."

Souji watched as Yosuke's eyes focused on the drink in his hands, a pink colour tinting his face, and it finally sunk in that this was real. He reached across the small table to place a hand over one of Yosuke's. "I really like you, too, Yosuke."

Tentatively, their fingers wrapped around each other and the blinding smile on Yosuke's face was all the reassurance Souji truly needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi and thank you for reading! i hope you all enjoy this chapter, it's the one i feel like we've all been kinda waiting for haha. this is by no means a slow burn fic, but man, am i glad to be to the point of their first date. i really enjoyed writing this fluffy and awkward first date and the lil family moment at the beginning so i hope that it doesn't disappoint! thank you endlessly for all of the support in the form of kudos, comments, notes on tumblr, and all of the boosting on twitter. y'all are genuinely the best. thank you for helping me to keep motivated to continue this and anything to come. <333
> 
> as always, feel free to come find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/souyosona) or [tumblr](http://souyosona.tumblr.com)! :3


	9. A Perfect Moment in Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yosuke's secretly (or maybe not too secretly) a romantic and takes Souji out on a date he'll never forget.

Dating Yosuke was a lot like being just friends with Yosuke. It had only been less than a full week and sometimes Souji would still think their date had just been a very elaborate dream, but then Yosuke would take his hand while they walked to get lunch together and it would ease the worries in his head. It wasn't that Souji didn't want to believe that this was all really happening. It was that he wasn't used to things going so well for him. He wasn't used to feeling happy. He'd caught glimpses of true happiness in the year spent with Dojima and Nanako, but he never knew that feeling could last. That he would be able to feel like that again, and even more so.

And he was feeling so unbelieveably happy. It was incredible what being happy could do for someone. His concentration and motivation in school had never been better and he found himself enjoying even the smallest of things more. The barriers around his heart had come down and while Souji was still scared, he was keeping the promise he made to himself. He wasn't going to go back to that lonely boy who was closed off from the world.

Feeling a distinct buzzing on his desk, Souji finished the last few sentences of the paper he'd been working on and unlocked his phone.

> 16:59 ✉ **Yosuke** ❤ || _soooooo_  
>  17:00 ✉ **Yosuke** ❤ || _i was thinkin_  
>  17:00 ✉ **Yosuke** ❤ || _its my turn to tke u out_
> 
> 17:15 ✉ **Souji** || _Oh, really now?_
> 
> 17:16 ✉ **Yosuke** ❤ || _yup! tonite @ 7, do u hve plns?_
> 
> 17:16 ✉ **Souji** || _Actually, I do._
> 
> 17:17 ✉ **Yosuke** ❤ || _oh :( ok_
> 
> 17:18 ✉ **Souji** || _I have a date._
> 
> 17:22 ✉ **Yosuke** ❤ || _..._  
>  17:22 ✉ **Yosuke** ❤ || _i hate u_
> 
> 17:23 ✉ Souji || :) _So where are you taking me?_
> 
> 17:24 ✉ **Yosuke** ❤ || _not tellin_  
>  17:25 ✉ **Yosuke** ❤ || _n no hints so dnt ask_
> 
> 17:25 ✉ **Souji** || :(
> 
> 17:26 ✉ **Yosuke** ❤ || _nope thts nt gonna wrk on me_
> 
> 17:26 ✉ **Souji** || :( :( :(
> 
> 17:28 ✉ **Yosuke** ❤ || _c u @ 7_ (ﾉ´ з `)ノ 

Just like Yosuke to only give him two hours notice. Less than, now. At least he'd already finished his paper.

* * *

"Will you tell me where we're going now?" Souji stared out the window of the cab that Yosuke had called for them.

"Not a chance." Yosuke's thumb was running along Souji's knuckles and it was probably the most calming thing he'd ever felt. "Besides, we're almost there."

When the car stopped, Yosuke thanked and paid the driver. Souji opened the door and found that they were on the bustling riverside. Around them were lit up restaurants and shops alike, a steady string of people lining the area. The sun was beginning to set, reflecting shades of orange and pink into the blue water. It was breathtaking.

"I hope you're hungry." Yosuke grinned, leading Souji down to one of the eateries.

Once inside, Yosuke spoke briefly with the man who greeted them before a different person came along to guide them further inside and out the back doors to a cluster of seatings overlooking the river. He gestured towards their table, explaining their waiter would be with them shortly and leaving them be. Yosuke pulled out one of the chairs for Souji who smiled as he sat down.

"Such a gentleman."

"Shut up." He chuckled as he took his seat across from Souji.

"This place is beautiful, it must be expensive. Are you sure this is okay?"

"I wouldn't have brought you here if it wasn't."

Souji stared at him, taking in the way Yosuke's eyes seemed to glow in the fading sunlight. Their waiter arrived before he could say anything further, jotting down their drink orders and leaving so they could take some time to look over the menu. He was right in assuming it was more on the expensive side, eyes widening as he looked over some of the prices on the meals.

"Stop looking at how much everything is and get what you want."

"I wasn't -"

Yosuke fixed him with a knowing glare, shutting up his argument immediately. He huffed, but relented and mulled over his options before deciding just in time for their waiter to return with their beverages and take their orders. After he'd left once more, Souji took a sip of his tea and let his eyes wander from the water back to his date.

"This is incredible, Yosuke, really. Thank you."

"It's no big deal. I just wanna make you feel special, I guess. Because you're special to me."

Warmth crept into Souji's skin, a smile that he was certain looked particularly dopey on his face. "You're special to me, too."

The grin that lit up Yosuke's face just then was so blinding that Souji felt he almost needed some sunglasses to look directly at it. Souji wanted so badly to reach over to cup Yosuke's cheek or to trace a finger along the dimples on either side of his smile, but it was only their second date and he didn't want to overstep and make the other feel uncomfortable so he settled for gently kicking Yosuke's foot with his own under the table.

Their food came rather quickly and they halted their conversation in favour of very politely stuffing their faces. It was just as delicious as Souji had known it would be and by the end, his stomach was so happily full that he could have dozed off right there. He still tried to convince Yosuke to at least let him help split the bill, but Yosuke was having none of it.

The sun had since gone to sleep and while they could barely see any stars this deep into the city, the lights along the riverside street shone almost just like stars. It had a magical effect on the area, magnified by the sounds of soft music flowing between the shops like the river behind them. As they headed in a direction only Yosuke knew, Souji carefully threaded his fingers through Yosuke's.

"So, is this how you treat all of your dates?"

Yosuke looked over at him, a smirk on his face as he shook his head. "Not even close. I'll probably regret admitting it, but I never tried even half this hard for them."

Souji's breath caught in his throat. "You're kidding."

"Don't get me wrong. It's not that they didn't deserve it, they were nice girls, but there was no spark, y'know? I didn't feel anything for them beyond, like, they were pretty and nice, I guess?" He shrugged, squeezing Souji's hand slightly. "But with you, I feel _so much_. I can't really explain it, but I just always want to be around you. Is that weird?"

"No, I feel the same way. Honestly, you kind of scared me." The admission made Yosuke raise his eyebrows in confusion. "Not in a bad way, just. I built up all of these walls to keep people out and to keep myself safe, and you just bulldozed over them like they were nothing."

Yosuke stopped walking as they reached a ferris wheel lit up in beautiful rainbow lights that Souji hadn't even noticed until now. He paid for two tickets before hopping into one of the pods, motioning for Souji to join him. Once safely seated, the operator closed their door and resumed the ride.

"I'm really happy you let me in." Yosuke's voice was barely above a whisper, almost like he was scared of ruining the mood.

"Me too." Souji could almost feel this invisible force pushing him closer towards Yosuke, and in the moments of him questioning whether to listen to what his heart wanted to do, he saw Yosuke's eyes flicker down to his lips and back up almost imperceptibly and Souji stopped holding back.

He raised a hand to rest gently on one of Yosuke's cheeks, the warmth and softness pleasant to the touch. Yosuke's own hand moved to rest lightly at Souji's waist and his head leaned in slowly, silently letting Souji know that the move was his to make and he wouldn't pressure him any further. But Souji knew what he wanted and he held his breath as he closed the distance, pressing his lips against Yosuke's.

The feeling sent the butterflies in his stomach on a rampage, his whole body tingling with this new experience. Admittedly, Souji had no idea where to go from here or if he should be going anywhere, but thankfully he didn't have to think that hard because Yosuke took over from there. His head tilted slightly to allow a better angle, slotting their lips together like they were puzzle pieces. It was an intoxicating feeling, to kiss Yosuke, and Souji found himself not wanting to stop.

After what felt like forever, but in reality was probably no more than a minute, they pulled back just far enough to rest their foreheads against each other.

"Wow. So that's kissing," Souji murmured incredulously.

Yosuke nodded, seemingly in a daze as a goofy grin lifted his lips. "In my very limited experience with kissing, it has never felt like that."

"Now I _know_ you're just trying to make me feel better."

"I am not!" Crossing his arms and sitting back properly against the seat, Yosuke genuinely pouted. It was adorable.

"If you say so." Souji wormed one of his arms through Yosuke's and leaned against him as he watched out the window as they slowly went around the wheel.

They were really high up now and he could see so far out past the river that he could even see the stars twinkling in the sky. Everything about this was as close to a perfect moment in time than Souji had ever been. He finally understood what people were talking about when he read about moments like this in books or heard a singer reminisce about these moments in songs. Here, with Yosuke humming that happy melody from before once again, their arms linked and his head resting on Yosuke's shoulder, Souji understood it; he felt it. This must be what falling in love is like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooo, thank you as always for reading! i hope this chapter is a source of good fluffiness for you all. thank you to everyone who gives this a chance, leaves a kudo, comments, or supports me on twitter and tumblr. you guys are the absolute best and i appreciate you more than i can ever say. <333
> 
> as always, feel free to come find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/souyosona) or [tumblr](http://souyosona.tumblr.com)! :3


	10. Almost Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's almost Summer break and that means time for finals week. It's a good thing Souji's got Yosuke around to keep him from overdoing it (well, at least somewhat).

Lately it felt like all of Souji's time was being spent at the library, both from studying and from the part-time job as a library assistant he'd managed to acquire back in May. The hours were very flexible, the pay was decent, and he got a lot of down time to do his own reading and studying. It was truly the perfect job for him right now. It also didn't hurt that Yosuke could visit often without any issues, which was probably a very good thing because Souji wasn't sure he'd be able to stay sane right now without his boyfriend to keep him company most nights.

"Hey. When's the last time you ate?" Yosuke was watching Souji put away a cartful of books, his expression worried.

Souji had to think about it for far too long. He'd never been very good at taking care of himself during exam time. Yosuke sighed, pocketing the flashcards he'd been trying to memorise.

"I'll be back."

All Souji could manage to do was stare after him in confusion before he returned to the task at hand. Once finished with the cart, he wheeled it back up to the front desk and let the librarian on duty know that he would be studying and to let him know if she needed anything further. He sunk into his usual seat at one of the barely used tables in the history section of the library, his books still laid out from his last break.

He was in the middle of going over his review sheet for his ethics class for the third time when Yosuke returned and sat in the seat beside him, depositing a bag on the table and waving a large coffee directly under Souji's nose. He couldn't help but smile as he took the drink.

"Vanilla latte with an extra shot of espresso. I had them make us some turkey melts and snagged some chocolate chip cookies, too. And no looking over notes while you eat, you need to take a proper break or your brain's gonna explode or something." Yosuke busied himself pulling the food from the bag and Souji knew better than to argue.

"Thank you." When Yosuke looked up to hand over his sandwich, Souji took the opportunity to plant a soft kiss on his boyfriend's lips.

Yosuke smiled into the kiss, letting out a content sigh. "You gotta eat and if the only way you're gonna do that is by me forcing you to, then I'm happy to do that."

Souji's cheeks heated in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I've always been like this when it comes to tests. I kind of get tunnel vision, I guess."

Nodding, Yosuke finished a bite of his sandwich. "Good thing you got me now then, huh? I'll make sure you eat and take a healthy amount of breaks. You're the smartest and most well-prepared person I know, Souj. There's really no need for you to push yourself this hard."

He knew that Yosuke was right. Logically, he knew that it made perfect sense and that he was running himself ragged like this. But every time he thought about taking it easier, he heard his parents' voices telling him that if he didn't score the highest in his class then he would have no hope of getting a respectable job. And if he didn't have a respectable job, then he would have failed them and himself.

Souji couldn't seem to get any words out now, settling for simply eating and trying not to get too lost in thoughts of the past. By the time he finished, he felt much better than he had all day. He allowed his head to fall to Yosuke's shoulder, eyes closed and lips curled with contentment.

* * *

When it finally came time for finals week, Souji and Yosuke didn't see much of each other at all. On top of his finals, Yosuke also had to perform the pieces he'd spent the semester working on both by himself and with his group, and that took up most of his evenings. Souji would have been too anxious about his own finals to really enjoy any time they spent together, anyway, so he didn't let it bother him too much. He just reminded himself that after Saturday, they would be on break for the Summer. Not only would he be able to spend four wonderfully carefree weeks with Dojima and Nanako, but as it turned out, Yosuke's father had to attend some company retreat for part of the break and his mother was going to accompany him so for the entire second half of the break Yosuke and Teddie were going to come and stay with them in Inaba. It was the only thing that got him through the week without keeling over from exhaustion.

Souji had told both Nanako and Dojima that he and Yosuke were dating a few days after their second date. Dojima hadn't been surprised, apparently having seen the way they looked at each other. Souji would have been more embarrassed about being so obvious, but he was too happy to really care too much. When Souji had called to ask about them coming to stay for those two weeks, Nanako was beyond ecstatic and Dojima just told him that he better not let Nanako catch he and Yosuke doing anything too inappropriate. Souji had been a blubbering mess, face surely the shade of the brightest strawberry to have ever existed. Did he really think that they would do something like that in front of Nanako or Teddie? Not that they were even doing anything beyond hand holding or kissing yet, but that wasn't the point.

Thankfully, the week went by just as quickly as it had come, and by the end of Saturday, Souji felt so relieved to be done with the whole ordeal that he nearly passed out on the way back from his last exam. He was feeling fairly confident that he'd done well on everything, so he told himself that he would put it all out of his mind and simply enjoy the upcoming break. There was nothing more he could do, no matter what grades he actually got.

He was about to text Yosuke to let him know that he was finished, but realising the time and that he was probably in the middle of his own final exam, Souji pocketed his phone. He didn't want to risk it going off and distracting Yosuke or his class, knowing that Yosuke tended to forget to put it on silent. Instead, Souji headed back to his room to take a well-deserved nap while he waited.

When his alarm went off two hours later, he blearily reached for it to shut it off only to find another hand beating him to it. Souji reached up to rub his eyes, a sleepy smile on his lips.

"You didn't shut your door all the way, sleepyhead."

"Left it like that for you. How-" Souji was cut off by a yawn. "How did it go?"

Yosuke moved to sit on the edge of the bed, reaching over to brush some of Souji's fringe out of his eyes. "Good, I think. You?"

Souji nodded, eyes closing again as Yosuke's fingers traced along one of his cheeks. "If you keep doing that I'm gonna fall back asleep."

"Sorry, can't help it." Yosuke leaned down to press a kiss on the tip of Souji's nose. "You're just too cute when you're half-asleep."

Souji could feel his face heating up as he scrunched his nose, pulling the blanket up to just below his eyes. "Sap."

Chuckling, Yosuke stood up from the bed and stretched. "C'mon. Let's go grab some dinner to celebrate."

* * *

Early the next morning, the couple walked to the nearby bus stop together with their luggage in tow. Their respective trains were leaving within minutes of each other, not that a big difference in departure times would have stopped them from spending the little bit of extra time together. When they arrived at the train station, they stopped off to purchase some coffee from one of the kiosks present and found a couple of seats between their respective gates. Souji slipped his hand into Yosuke's free one, leaning against him sleepily.

Yosuke laced their fingers together, sipping at his drink. "So, are you excited to see Nanako-chan?"

"Of course. What about you? I'm sure Teddie-chan can't wait for you to get back."

"Ugh, yeah. He's already made plans for probably every second as soon as I get there."

Souji chuckled, feeling more awake the more he nursed the coffee in his hand. "He just misses you. I can understand that."

"Are you sayin' you're gonna miss me?" The smirk on Yosuke's face was teasing, but the look in his eyes said all Souji needed to know.

"Don't act like you aren't going to miss me, too." Souji shoved his shoulder against Yosuke's.

"Yeah, well."

They could hear the announcement overhead for Souji's train and they shared a glance before Souji stood, squeezing Yosuke's hand. "Guess that's my cue. Text me when you make it home safe, okay?"

Yosuke nodded, setting his cup aside for a moment as he stood and took Souji's face in his hands before pressing a sweet kiss to his lips. Souji smiled into it, a pleased hum in his throat.

"You tell me when you make it home, too, got it?"

"Got it. I'll see you in a couple of weeks." The last call for his train was being broadcasted and he reluctantly turned to leave. Just before he was out of sight, Souji glanced back towards Yosuke to find him already looking his way. He grinned and waved, making Souji's heart leap almost painfully in his chest. Returning the gesture as best he could, Souji smiled before hurriedly getting on the train. Two weeks was no time at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiya everyone! thank you so very much for all of your continued support and all of the love you're giving lgl, i truly am blown away. we're 10 chapters in and we just hit 100 kudos as well as 1000 hits, that's insane to me. i can never truly thank you enough and i'm sorry if my end notes are always so sappy and repetitive, i just have a lot of feelings haha. i hope you all enjoy this chapter and look forward to the upcoming summer break chapter(s)! <333
> 
> as always, feel free to come find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/souyosona) or [tumblr](http://souyosona.tumblr.com)! :3


	11. Home for the Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some snippets of the beginning of Summer Break featuring Souji and Nanako making a pillow fort, a skype call, and the comforting warmth of having a home.

A home had always been something Souji longed for growing up. His parents' house never felt like a home; it was merely a place to live. It was empty and meaningless and full of painful memories. Souji would always be a little bitter that he had been robbed of the happy childhood that most of his peers were given. But the moment Souji arrived in Inaba and stepped off the train to be practically tackled to the ground by Nanako, he knew that he had finally found his home; finally had a family of his own.

"Welcome home, Big Bro!" As if to solidify his thoughts, Nanako's sweet voice filled his ears.

"I'm home."

Everything felt as though he'd never left. The town looked the exact same, almost like it'd been frozen in time. It was a steady constant that Souji found himself grateful for. Their house had only changed in subtle ways; more pictures in frames lining the walls and shelves as well as some colourful trinkets that Nanako had either made or convinced Dojima to purchase from Junes. It no longer felt like a place of mourning as it had in the year he'd first stayed here, making Souji smile in relief. Dojima and Nanako seemed much happier and closer now than they were then and Souji was beyond happy to see it.

They hadn't changed his room at all, but he did notice that it was particularly dust-free so they must have cleaned it a little prior to his arrival.

"Nanako insisted we clean up the dust 'n stuff for ya." Dojima was perched in the doorframe, watching Souji set his bags down with a smile. "I ordered Aiya's for lunch, figured you must be pretty hungry."

"Of course she did. That sounds perfect, thank you." Souji felt his stomach grumble in agreement.

Nanako called up the stairs not even a minute later, letting them know Aiya was there with their food and Dojima mumbled incredulously that he'd never get over how quickly they managed to deliver every single time. Before he left the room, he glanced back toward Souji with a smile.

"It's good to have you home, kid."

* * *

The next day, Souji took a very excited Nanako to Junes so they could do the shopping for the week. He was more than happy to return to his duties of making sure the Dojimas ate proper meals. They took their time going through every aisle as Nanako told him about certain dishes she'd been learning to make. By the end of their trip, they'd ended up with twice as many things as had been on their list because Souji was truly incapable of saying no when Nanako asked for anything.

That night they made spicy curry with tofu and Dojima brought home ice cream for dessert. After putting away their leftovers and doing the dishes, they changed into their pajamas and Souji helped Nanako build a fort made of pillows and blankets in the living room per her request. When it was finished to their standards, Souji snapped a picture of it and sent it to Yosuke with a smile.

"Are you texting Yosuke-kun?" Nanako had been sifting through their DVDs before deciding on Spirited Away and rejoining him under the blanket tent.

Souji nodded before setting his phone aside once again. "I just wanted to show him our fort."

"Does he like it? Tell him I say hi and Teddie, too!"

20:32 ✉ **Yosuke** ❤ || _whoa! looks awsum!_ ☆ ～('▽'人)

20:33 ✉ **Souji** || _She's glad you like it. Nanako says hi to you and Teddie._

20:35 ✉ **Yosuke** ❤ || _hi nanako-chan! cnt wait 2 come c u guys!_

20:36 ✉ **Yosuke** ❤ || _i miss u_

Souji's cheeks nearly hurt from the smile that now stretched his lips. Nanako poked at his cheek and giggled at the pink colour that formed once he knew he'd been caught.

20:38 ✉ **Souji** || _I miss you, too._

* * *

A few days, Nanako went to spend the night with her group of friends from school after Souji had reassured her a few times that they still had weeks left together before he had to go back to school and that it was important for her to spend plenty of time with her friends as well. It felt strange to have the house to himself and he wasn't really sure what to do with himself. He'd already cleaned everywhere he possibly could and had his dinner simmering on the stove. It was pouring down rain outside and the sound echoed through the mostly silent house, but it wasn't an unpleasant atmosphere. And like he did every day, Souji found himself wishing Yosuke was there with him. 

Pulling out his phone, Souji decided to see if Yosuke was free to video chat. He ventured upstairs for his laptop while he waited for a response and sat it at the dining room table, booting up Skype. No more than a minute after he'd come online he heard the ringing of an incoming call. He tried to bite down the grin that was already forming.

"Hey. That was fast."

"Hi! Yeah, I was already on my laptop working on a song when you texted."

Souji nodded, turning to check on his dinner. "Will I get to hear one of your songs sometime?"

"Um. Yeah. When I think one is good enough for you to hear, sure, I'll play it for you." Yosuke was flushed now, scratching at the back of his neck.

"I bet they're all more than good enough. You're way too hard on yourself." Souji turned off the burner and plated his food.

Yosuke hummed, typing away at something. "Nah, you're just way too nice."

For awhile they sat in silence, Souji eating and Yosuke working and it was comfortable. It felt like home again and Souji didn't feel even the slightest bit lonely anymore. As he washed his dishes, he heard Yosuke starting to tune his guitar and when he sat back down, his boyfriend was plucking at the strings with some tune that was unfamiliar to Souji. He was mesmorised by the way Yosuke seemed to _be_ the music. It was like an extension of himself. His fingers moved skillfully and his voice hummed for awhile before he stopped to type something into his computer. He readjusted his guitar in his lap, catching Souji's eyes with a smile.

"What's with that dopey look on your face?"

Souji blinked, eyebrows scrunching together. "I don't have a dopey look on my face. I was just enjoying watching you work is all."

Yosuke chuckled, fingers pushing his fringe out of his eyes. "If you say so. I get it, though. I like watching you do things, too."

"Like what?"

"Like when you read or study or when you doodle in the margins of your notebook or when you're doing pretty much anything at all." Yosuke wasn't looking him in the eyes, toying with his strings instead.

Souji knew exactly what he meant. He could watch Yosuke simply do nothing and would feel happy doing so. He knew that was something special, to have someone who you can feel content with even if you're doing nothing at all, and he wasn't taking it for granted.

"I'm really happy with you."

Yosuke looked up then, his eyes bright and his grin wide. "I'm really, really happy with you, too, Souji."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys! sorry for the month long break, been dealing with life stuff, y'know? but i hope you enjoy this chapter! it's just part one of summer break, so keep looking forward to more lovely summer times with souji, nanako, dojima, yosuke, and teddie. :3
> 
> thank you as always so so so much for all of the support and love you've been continuously giving me and this fic. i cannot ever tell you enough how much you all mean to me. <333

**Author's Note:**

> where to find me!  
> [twitter](http://twitter.com/souyosona) || [tumblr](http://souyosona.tumblr.com) || [souyo writing playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1xZCmcL48i4wp0r86Fohtu)


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